NEPALESE

GUARDIAN MASKS

Nepal is a country at the crossroads between India and Tibet
and thus the forms of worship found there contain elements of Indian
Vedic and Tantric Hinduism as well as Tibetan Buddhism and
Tibetan Bon (animism). The diminutive Nepalese "masks" shown here are
small papier mache hangings meant to be placed on walls,
especially above or beside doors and windows, to invoke the
aid of popular Hindu deities. In the style typical of
Tibetan and Nepalese tantric hagiography, they are all
wearing elaborate pointed crowns and displaying their open
third eyes.

The 3 inch x 3 inch mini-mask at the upper left represents Bhairab, the Nepalese
version of Bhairava, a fierce, large-eyed, and mustached
Indian god. Popular books on Hinduism generally explain Bhairava as a
wrathful or protective "minor form" or "local form" of the
ascetic-erotic-destructive "great god" Siva, but according
to scholars, the worship of Bhairava probably arose
independently from that of Siva and may even have predated
it. Some Indian sects of saddhus (ascetics) who were
once known to favour Bhairava as their tutelary deity have
over the centuries gradually replaced the ultra-masculine
or even demonic visage of this hairy, wrathful warrior with
contemporary imagery of Siva as a benign, slender, youthful,
beardless ascetic -- although the saddhus themselves still
wear full, flowing facial hair in the manner of Bhairava.
In modern India, vernacular images of Bhairava usually feature his
large, watchful eyes and masculine mustache, but not the
pointed fangs found in this Nepalese icon.
These old-style Bhairava statues, stones, and plaques -- sometimes
reduced to the mere schematic of two eyes and a mustache --
are often encountered in public spaces as village
protectors. They may be set up as pathway icons or placed as
boundary markers somewhat after the manner of an ancient
Greek Herm.
Bhairava masks are hung at doors and windows to guard
the premises against natural disasters and intruders,
especially burglars. They are also a featured decoration in
the households of devotees who wish to worship Siva in his
wrathful or fierce form.

The 3 inch x 3 inch mini-mask at the upper right represents a Nepalese goddess, Kurukulla or Red Tara, who is popularly identified by some Indians with the
goddess Kali and by others with the goddess Durga
in her wrathful or fierce form. There is scarcely enough
room on my entire web site to identify and explain the long
history of presumed and disputed interlinkages between the
Saktiite, Saivite, and Tibetan Buddhist goddesses Durga, Kali, Parvati, Uma,
Sati, Tara, Kurukulla, Candi, Ambika, et al, so it must
suffice to say that Durga is a very fierce
warrior-mother-protector goddess and Parvati is a loving
wife-and-mother goddess. Naked, blood-thirsty, wild-haired Kali is
seen by some of her devotees as the supreme god-head, by
others as a mere battle-born "aspect" of the
supreme god-head Durga, and
by a third group as the "true form" (or, contrariwise, a "mere aspect") of Parvati or Durga in her/their role as
the Shakti (energy) or consort of the supreme god-head Siva. Despite these cosmological
inconsistencies, most of the wrathful Indian and Himalayan goddesses
have in common an
identification with blood sacrifices. In addition, many of their devotees attest to a deeply held
belief that these goddesses are motherly and protective
to any worshipers who can humbly surrender to
them despite their fearful visages. Kurukulla/Kali masks are
hung at doors and windows to protect family members. They are also a featured decoration in
the households of devotees who wish to worship Durga, Kali, Parvati, Kurukulla, et al in a
wrathful or fierce form.

Compared to the theological intricacies associated with the
first two masks, the 3 1/2 inch x 3 1/2 inch mini-mask at
the bottom is fairly straighforward: It represents Ganesha, the lucky elephant god
of India, the son of Siva and a goddess
identified variously as Durga or Parvati. The web page on Ganesha gives more details on his
iconography and efficacy; his images in the form of posters,
statuary, or masks such as this are hung on the walls or
placed near doors and windows of
homes and shops to invite luck, abundant fortune,
paying customers, cheerful visitors, and family happiness.
They are also a featured decoration in the households of
devotees who wish to worship Ganesha as the opener of the way and the bringer of all good things in life.

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